So I am one of those paranoid types, when I learnt that some apps can request for strange permissions when installed, I go through permissions to check which to allow and which to deny. And if I don’t use an app regularly, I deny it permissions entirely till when it will need.

Well, it’s not all smooth, I paid for my behaviour yesterday.

I had denied Mula app permissions to access the telephone, and it didn’t work. It kept telling me that the app couldn’t find some parameters, so this means that it couldn’t connect the phone number with Mpesa account number when doing API calling, and that’s how I slept without electricity. My tokens had ended, and the alternative was buying via the KPLC paybill that can send the tokens anywere from 30 minutes to the next day, or probably never.

The tokens SMS came in at 2am.

Today I remember that I had disabled permissions for Mula, turned telephone back on and it works. To think I set phone on airplane mode, restarted, tried 1999 times. SMH!

I only make a point to check permissions of less trusted apps. Basically anything coming out of China and most Asian countries. Those people have no perception of the word ethics. On most other apps I let them have whichever permissions they request during installation.

I gave up on the FB app ages ago because it was garbage. WhatsApp is good and hard to fault. Even it’s permissions make total sense. Anything it doesn’t use from the get go is disabled by default. Seriously, have you ever used any app by Cheetah Mobile? I’m talking of apps like CM browser, CM security (Security Master Anti Virus) - - they keep renaming apps for some unknown reason. They spam every area of your phone. I’m talking about nonsense ads on the status bar, lock screen, unwanted shortcuts on the home screen, useless floating widgets, full screen ads even when you are using another app, and the list goes on. All this because of being too liberal with permissions during installation. I just dislike Chinese apps for this reason. I actually rolled my Opera Mini back to pre-buyout times because these days it’s ads galore on Opera Mini no thanks to the Chinese.

Away from permissions, I switched from the paybill to the @tspacebot that you covered here a few months back. No mpesa charges and it has consistently given me my tokens in <5 seconds several times a month at all hours for 4 months now. Good bot.

They spam every area of your phone. I’m talking about nonsense ads on the status bar, lock screen, unwanted shortcuts on the home screen, useless floating widgets, full screen ads even when you are using another app, and the list goes on

So true. I figured out it’s mostly Chinese apps that do this so I check the developer’s address to know if it’s made by them. Indian apps are also bad in terms of spam but not China bad. The safest regions to download apps for me in order of decreasing importance are: European countries, North America, South Asian countries (Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, etc.), South America, and lastly China.

Apps from the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, etc.) are the best behaved.